Close Calls and Mixed Signals
by Jennifer Collins
Summary: A series of Carol/Daryl moments leading up to a confession.
1. Quick and Dirty

Carol looked up from the table when Daryl rose. "Going hunting again?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Naw. Goin' inta town for a bit. Gotta pick up a coupl'a things."

"Well, don't do it alone. I'll come with you," She offered.

Daryl nodded. "Alright."

Beth met her eyes with a secret smile.

XXXXX

The six mile ride into town was a quiet one, which was okay with Carol. Daryl parked the car near the woods as usual to keep hidden, just in case.

She stiffened when she realized there were walkers milling about the front of the place, her hand reaching for her knife.

Daryl turned his gaze to her briefly for a moment. "S'alright. There's only four of those bastards. Piece of cake."

Carol nodded, drawing her knife and sinking it easily into a walker's skull. She turned around to find that Daryl had already taken care of the other three.

"See? Easy," He said with a grin. "Come on now. We ain't got all day. Let's just go in an' get out."

She grinned back, cautiously pulling the door open to find it empty inside. "Quick and dirty?"

"Just the way I like it." Daryl unzipped his backpack, pretending not to notice the way Carol's face flushed a light pink at his joke. "Where's the list?"

"Here," she said, pulling it out of her pocket. Her eyes lit up when she noticed the large jugs of water sitting on a shelf. "Not on the list, but we should bring these back anyway."

"I guess nobody raided this place yet. Looks like we got lucky," He commented as he shoveled some supplies in his pack. "That's it for the list. Lemme give you a hand with those."

She wrinkled her nose when she noticed the walker blood on her sleeve as she reached out to lift one of the jugs. "Ugh, we've already taken care of the dirty part. But the quick part is a nice surprise. Not often that we get back in less than an hour," she said.

He nodded. "Yeah, the others won't be expecting us for awhile. We could drag this out a lil more. Your offer to screw around still stand?"

"Huh?" She almost choked, then yelped when she dropped the jug. "Ouch! " She muttered. "My ankle."

"Shit." He bounded over to her, setting the jug upright on the floor and kneeling down in front of her to inspect the damage. "Can you put weight on it?"

She tested her injury, moaning slightly in pain and leaning back against the counter for support. "Not really. It hurts a lot."

"Here." He said, reaching out with both hands, then hesitated. "May I?" He asked, looking up at her.

She nodded.

He carefully raised her pant leg. "Well, it's definitely swollen," He said, running a hand over her ankle and squeezing briefly.

She winced.

"Not broken, though, I don't think. Probly just sprained." He sighed. "Lemme get this shit in the car and then I'll come back to help you out. Stay put." He adjusted the pack on his back and tucked a jug of water under each arm before setting out.

His eyes narrowed when he realized that there were several walkers on the side of the building, but he knew he could make it if he ran. He hastily dropped the supplies in the bed of the pickup truck before grabbing his crossbow to take out a few of them on the way back.

Once back inside, he found her exactly where he'd left her. "Bad news. Walkers on the left side'a the buildin'. We'll have'ta be real fast." He frowned. "Can you walk?"

She bit down hard on her lip as she tried to put more weight on the injured ankle, stepping forward gingerly as he moved in to help her, throwing her arm across his shoulders. "Here, lean on me," he said.

They approached the door slowly.

"This ain't gonna work. You gotta move faster, at least faster'n those assholes," He said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice.

She nodded, shifting the weight to her good leg and attempting to hop to the door.

"Fuck this," he said, scooping her up in his arms.

She let out a yelp as he took off at a run, burying her face in his neck and squeezing her eyes shut against the uneven motion as he ran the distance to the truck.

He balanced her in his arms as he reached out to yank open the car door and set her carefully inside. He had to take out two more walkers with his crossbow before he made it around the other side of the truck to the driver's side but then they were off and back on the main road.

"So much for quick," He muttered, eyes on the rearview mirror to see if they were being followed.

"Sorry," she said quietly. She thought for a moment. "You were kidding about us hooking up back there, right?" She finally asked.

He grinned, still staring straight ahead at the road. "I don't know. We could still pull over. You ever done it in the bed of a pickup truck?"

She smiled, noticing his teasing tone. "No. And I don't ever plan on it either."

"Well, damn," he said in mock disappointment.


	2. The Gift

Carol watched idly as Rick and Daryl made a fire in the newly dug pit. She rubbed her hands together against the cool, crisp air and settled down gratefully. She smiled when Daryl took his usual seat next to her, pulling a blanket around his shoulders.

"Gettin' cold," he said, eyeing her with his head cocked to one side. "Where's your blanket?"

She shrugged. "I gave it to the girls. They needed an extra one."

He frowned. "What about you? You're shiverin.' Ain't gonna do ya no good gettin' sick." He tugged the blanket down and held it out to her. "Here. Take mine."

She shook her head. "No way. It's fine."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm used ta all sorts'a weather. You ain't. Stop being so stubborn an' take it."

She thought for a moment, eyes trained across the pit where Glenn and Maggie were huddled close. "Well… can't we share?" She sidled closer to him, moving to rest her head against his shoulder, her teeth chattering slightly.

He tensed visibly as his muscles stiffened, but he didn't pull away so she leaned in. After a moment he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders too, leaving his arm around her and sliding her closer against his body heat. "Fine. But only til after the food's done. When we go back in, you wear layers."

She nodded silently.

"Here, move closer to the fire," He commanded. She put her head back on his shoulder and he rubbed his hands up and down her arms underneath the blanket. "Man, you're really shakin'. Let's get you warmed up."

"It's much better now," she said softly, closing her eyes as she nestled into his warmth.

She saw Beth wink at her knowingly from across the pit, but if he noticed anything, he didn't say so.

XXXXX

The next day, Carol stayed with Beth to look after Judith while Daryl went on a run into town with Glenn and Tyreese.

"So, you and Daryl looked pretty cozy around the fire last night," Beth commented with a sly glance.

Carol shrugged. "I suppose so. I guess that's the closest I've ever gotten to him."

Beth smiled. "Don't worry, he'll come around eventually. I'm sure of it."

"I don't know about that. It's very obvious that if anything's ever going to happen, I'll have to be the one to initiate it."

"Well, you kind of already did," Beth said with a grin. "In front of everyone, too. And he didn't push you away. That's a good sign, right?"

Carol laughed. "I guess as good as it's going to get."

"It's the little things," Beth reminded her.

"You're right about that," Carol agreed. She picked up the baby and started humming a slow tune to change the subject.

XXXXX

Hours later, Carol moved into her cell to get ready for bed. She paused when she saw something folded on her bed. She unfolded it, revealing a brown wool sweater with pink threads woven through it. Upon further inspection, she noticed a matching hat and scarf. She grinned, scooping up the garments and continuing down the hall.

She stopped in front of Daryl's cell. He stood up from his bunk when he heard her approaching.

"What's this?" She asked, holding up the items.

He shrugged. "Found it when I was out today. Figured it's just your size."

She looked down at the sweater, running her fingers thoughtfully along the seams.

"What, you don't like pink?"

She look up at him, a soft smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "No. No, it's… perfect."

He shrugged again. "Didn't want ya gettin' all cold an shivery on me again."

"Oh." She lowered her eyes. "That makes sense."

She pulled the sweater on over her clothes and tugged the hat low over her ears.

He smiled. "Looks nice on ya."

She grinned. "So, does this mean no more cuddling?" She asked with a playful pout.

He sighed. "Carol…."

She shook her head. "Thanks for the gifts," she said softly, turning to go back to her own bunk.


	3. Keep On Smilin'

Daryl headed down the hall to Carol's cell. He paused in the door, smiling when he saw her sitting at the table with Beth, both of them fussing over Judith.

"…I think you could tell him now," Beth was saying.

"Tell who what?" He wondered aloud as he made a beeline for the baby.

"Nothing," Carol said, her cheeks tinted a light shade of pink, but by the time she'd spoken, he'd forgotten what he asked.

"Hay, sweetie," he said, taking Judith from Carol's arms. "How ya doin', lil ass-kicker?" He nearly purred, holding Judith up in front of his face and lifting her up and down.

Judith squealed happily, wiggling her legs and reaching out her arms to grab at his face. She tapped his cheeks over and over with both hands.

Carol laughed at the interaction, the corners of her mouth tugging up into a wide smile that lingered on her face.

"That's somethin' I haven't seen in a long time," Daryl said, glancing at her.

"What's that?" She asked, still smiling wide.

"You. Smilin' all pretty like that."

She looked into his eyes, her face flushing again. "I can't help it," she said. "I guess I'm just happy."

"Well, good," Daryl replied, placing the baby in Beth's awaiting arms. "I like it."

He took a step towards her and Beth coughed intently.

"It's a nice day out," Carol told him softly. "Do you want to… go for a walk around the grounds?"

He looked from Carol to Beth, who had lowered her face into Judith, biting her lip. "Wish I could," he said, with a hint of honest regret. "I gotta meet up with Glenn an' Michonne. Goin' inta town today."

Carol nodded, trying to mask her disappointment.

He reached a hand out and placed it lightly on her shoulder. "We'll go when I get back, alright?"

"Okay," she said softly.

"Good. Keep on smilin." He gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "I'll see ya later." For a second, he looked like he was about to say something else, but then he turned and left.

Beth stood up from the table and rocked the baby. "I really think you should tell him, soon. You can, now."

Carol met her gaze. "I will."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Don't wait too long."

"What? I said I will," Carol insisted. "I'll do it as soon as he gets back."

"I'll believe that when I see it," she said in a playful voice to Judith.

XXXXX

Carol stood at the sink, washing dishes after lunch when Beth and Maggie moved to help her.

"Did you do it yet?" Beth asked.

"Do what?" Maggie wondered.

"Talk to Daryl," Beth answered impatiently.

"Oh…" Maggie said slyly.

"No," Carol answered. "They're not back yet."

"They're not?" Maggie said with a frown. "That's odd. Glenn said they'd be right back."

Carol shrugged. "I guess they got held up. I'm sure they're fine."

"But there's three of them that went. They should be back by now," Maggie said.

Beth shook her head. "Don't panic. Carol's right. They'll be back soon," she agreed.

"Well, there's no sense in waiting around twiddling our thumbs," Carol said. "Let's get to work on dinner. I'll show you two how to prepare that deer that Daryl and Rick brought back last night."

Maggie made a face.

Carol smiled at her.

XXXXX

Carol busied herself all day with showing her friends how to cook the raw deer inside. After dinner, she read to the children and helped Hershel write out instructions for Rick on how to care for the crops. By the time she'd tucked the kids into bed, the first notion of worry started to creep low in her belly, although she was determined to keep the smile on her face.

She knew Rick must have noticed something off about her smile because he kept giving her more and more tasks to do into the night, even more than usual. At one point, he mentioned setting up a crew to go looking for them, but Carol talked him out of it. She insisted that it was best to stay put, not wanting anyone else to get lost.

It was well after midnight by the time she went back to her cell and she grabbed a towel and a fresh set of clothes before heading towards the showers. No one was in any of the other stalls and it was nice to have total privacy for once, but the water did nothing to soothe her nerves. She found herself wondering why she hadn't said anything to him before, and scenario after scenario played out in her mind about how he would take it. In most of them, he'd reacted in a very Daryl-like fashion and she smiled wryly to herself, thinking that it would still be best to tell him before it was too late. If it wasn't already. She banished that thought from her mind, then turned the water off when she realized far too late that she couldn't wash the uneasiness away.

Beth found her later on standing outside the prison with her eyes staring blankly towards the fences.

"It's okay to admit that you're worried, you know," her friend said softly.

Carol's eyes turned to her. "It's not that late…."

Beth crossed her arms over her chest. "It's after five in the morning!" She said, glancing at the clock on the watchtower.

Carol managed a half-smile. "That clock has said five for the past four months." She thought for a moment, figuring from the color in the sky as the sun began its ascent that Beth was probably right, but she didn't want to admit out loud that so much time had passed.

"They're okay," She half-whispered, as much to remind herself as to reassure her friend.

"I'll wait with you," Beth said, sitting down on the stairs.

"I just want him back safely," she replied in a quiet voice. "Everything else… none of that matters. I just want him back."


	4. On The Run

Glenn held the flashlight over Michonne's shoulder as she sifted through batteries on the shelf.

"Hay! They got baby food. We need any of that yet?" Daryl called from the corner.

"Better take it all. We don't know when we'll get to a store like this again," Michonne advised.

"My pack is fillin' up," He told her.

"Here," Glenn offered, holding out his bag. "Mine still has some room."

"Not enough," Daryl said. "I'll get this to the car and unload. Be right back."

The two nodded with barely a glance as they continued rummaging around for supplies.

Daryl made his way to the front of the store, leaning on the door to push it open as he balanced his backpack on one shoulder and a large carton of baby food under his arm. A low grunting sound to his right alerted him to the fact that he was not alone and he pulled a bolt out of his quiver, knowing that he wouldn't have enough time to drop the supplies and load his crossbow.

He sank it into the skull of the walker like a spear and waited a few seconds before he pulled it out. The gurgling noises coming from the corpse as he went down attracted more and Daryl groaned loudly as he pulled his knife off of his belt.

He ran towards the pickup truck knowing that he would be faster than the six or so walkers who were moving in his direction. He dropped the supplies in the bed of the truck and checked to make sure that he'd drawn them all away from the storefront where the others would be coming from at any moment before he moved to attack.

The next two went down as easy as the first one had and then he heard his team. "Heads up!" He warned, looking up long enough to see them register the danger. It was a second too long, and he shouted when he felt one of them grab at his leg, slashing at the thing so fiercely that he nearly severed its wrist before he stabbed it through the head.

By now, more had advanced on him and Daryl knew he couldn't afford to check on his teammates again, but he figured as long as he kept hearing the swish of Michonne's sword and Glenn cursing under his breath that they were okay.

After he'd taken out all six walkers in his general vicinity, he saw that more had converged and he was being herded. "Shit!" He cursed as he kept himself moving in a slow circle, keeping the outstretched arms and clamping teeth at bay.

He heard the truck start up and could feel, more than see it getting closer in an attempt to distract and run over his aggressors.

He smiled when he saw that Michonne was driving, with Glenn in the bed of the truck ready to haul him aboard as they drove by. He reached out to take the other man's hand. "See ya later, suckers," He called.

Just as he was about to lean all his weight forward, a huge walker with broad shoulders barreled into him from the side and he found himself on his back on the ground. He dug his hands into the corpse's shoulders and lifted it as far away from his body as he could, trying to ignore the stench of dried blood and the stale hot breath that was just a little too close to his neck as he thrashed about.

He kicked his legs into the thing's shins and he heard a sickening crack, but the walker did not let up as it tried to tear into his chest.

He heard a gunshot and felt a warm gush and then the body collapsed onto his side and he shoved it off and jumped up so fast that he made it into the back of the pickup truck without even realizing that that was what he'd been heading for.

He felt a pair of strong arms around him and he muttered a breathless "thanks" to Glenn as he shrugged him off.

"That was close," Glenn stated, eyes wide and breathing heavy as they sped away.

"Yeah," Daryl said with a grunt.

Glenn smiled. "I don't know what's scarier, seeing that thing on top of you, or telling Carol that we had to come back without you."

He managed a half-hearted grin as he sank down into the flatbed, heart pounding and chest still heaving.


	5. Reunion

Carol's whole body was rigid as she served dinner at the long picnic table. By her calculations, it had been twenty-nine hours since Daryl had set off with Michonne and Glenn on what should have been a quick run into town.

She barely looked at the faces of her team as they sat around the table, eating another meal in tense silence.

In the distance, she heard what she thought was the sound of tires rolling in the dirt, but she shook her head, not wanting to get her hopes up again.

Maggie was the first to stand. She watched as the younger girl rose from the bench, head cocked to the side and eyes intense.

Rick must have heard it too because he was the next to rise, nodding to Tyreese and Carl to get them to help him open the fence.

All at once, the rest of the group ran to the door and Carol had to remind herself how to breathe as she stood in the doorway watching the truck roll through the gate.

Hershel called for everyone to settle down and it was only a few moments later that the trio was walking through the door, with Rick, Carl, and Tyreese right behind them.

Maggie was practically in tears as she rushed forward to embrace Glenn and he closed his eyes, eagerly returning her embrace.

Carl had been hanging back, but in the next second he had thrown his arms around Michonne's waist and she gently stroked his hair.

Carol raised both hands to her face as she took in the sight of Daryl, tightly pressing one against her mouth to muffle any cry that might escape.

"Relax. It's walker blood, not mine," he said softly, his expression solemn as he stepped in front of her.

She nodded wordlessly, wiping silent tears from her eyes.

"I'm fine," he insisted, walking past her. A quick glance over his shoulder told her that he wanted to her to follow him, so she did.

She stood against the wall facing his bunk, wanting desperately to throw her arms around him the way Maggie and Carl had done to Glenn and Michonne, but she held back. Instead she just regarded him softly, waiting for him to speak.

"Was getting attached to this shirt," he muttered as he proceeded to pull it off over his head. "Think you could wash that up for me?"

"Of course," she told him, reaching out to take the bloodied garment from him. "You know, there's dinner ready in the kitchen area."

He shook his head. "Not hungry." He reached into a pile of clothes for a new shirt.

"Maybe later then," she offered, trying to keep cheerful for his benefit.

"I told Rick I'd take watch."

She raised an eyebrow. "Now? But you just got back. And you…. y-you should rest."

He shrugged. "Ain't no way I'll be able ta sleep right now."

She nodded. "Alright." She held up the bloody shirt. "I'll get started on this for you then."

"Nuh-uh. It's dark out. Stay put."

She offered him a half-smile. "I'll be fine, with you keeping watch. Besides, I don't want you to go out tomorrow without your favorite shirt."

He rolled his eyes, muttering something about a "stubborn broad."


End file.
